Bill Ward (musician)

William Thomas Bill Ward is an English musician and visual artist, best known as the original drummer for the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. An original founding member of the band, Ward also performed as lead vocalist on two Black Sabbath songs Its Alright from the album Technical Ecstasy and Swinging the Chain from the album Never Say Die Ward is known for his very unorthodox style of playing the drums, often using snaredrills and tempodrop to match both vocals and riff.

Wards drug and alcohol use increased throughout Black Sabbaths heyday. By the late 70s Ward was drinking during gigs, something he had never done before. He also began experiencing panic attacks. Ward has said he cannot remember the recording of 1980s Heaven and Hell due to his alcohol abuse. According to Black Sabbath bandmate Iommi, Ward disappeared onAugust 1980, without saying goodbye, other than a telephone call to thenBlack Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio informing him Im off then, Ron. He then briefly played in a band called Max Havoc. He sat out one album before returning to Black Sabbath for 1983s Born Again album. He once again left the band for health reasons prior to touring in support of Born Again. He again rejoined Black Sabbath in the mid1980s, though the band did not record or tour during this period.

Source: Wikipedia